Bonding Time
by CitrusChickadee
Summary: After giving up Manaphy, Team Shadow decide they need a break, so they take the time to catch up with some friends. PMD2 post-game one shot.


**Author's Note:** This is a bonus chapter for my other PMD2 fanfics (_Darkened Skies_ and _Darkened Skies: Side Stories_), though I feel like it works well enough as a standalone. It does make some reference to Chapter 25 of _Side Stories_, as well as catflowerqueen's _The Sparks Family Reunion_. Other than that, it has enough internal development (and is long enough) to work by itself. Anyway, Team Rainbow and the Torterra Guild belong to catflowerqueen, so, once again, a quick thanks to her for letting me borrow them.

* * *

**Bonding Time**

Claire nodded as she stepped back and looked around the bluff. She and Rin had finished setting up a couple extra piles of bedding for their guests to sit on, while Bruce and Iris were preparing a few bowls full of snacks for everyone. (It was mostly gummis and apples, but they'd made also set aside a few Plain Seeds—which was a bit weird, Claire thought, but it wasn't like they were using the seeds for anything else, anyway.)

Meanwhile, Felix was waiting outside, as their visitors were his cousin and her teammate (and Paula's friend Laura was the one who wanted the Plain Seeds). They'd hung out not too long after Team Shadow had graduated from the guild, but, since they all had some free time at the moment, they'd figured another get-together couldn't hurt. Besides, they could use a distraction right now… It hadn't been too long since Team Shadow had to part with Manaphy, and it was hard to stop thinking about him.

Not that Paula and Laura were _just_ a distraction, Claire hastily corrected herself. They were both perfectly nice Pokémon. It was just an extra little good thing on top of everything else, really.

Fortunately, Felix's voice soon shook her out of her thoughts, and Claire eagerly turned towards Sharpedo Bluff's staircase as he called out, "They're here!"

Soon enough, the Chimchar padded down the stairs with Paula and Laura in tow. The Pikachu and Treecko pair curiously glanced around the cave as they entered, and Laura's attention was quickly drawn by the stalagmites overlooking the ocean. Paula laughed as her Grass-Type partner headed over that way, shaking her head as she addressed everyone else.

"Remember how you mentioned this place had a good view of the beach? You wouldn't believe how much Laura was fixated on that on the way here." Paula grinned. "I swear, she was almost more excited about that than seeing everyone again!"

"…No, I wasn't," Laura mumbled, awkwardly looking away from the view. "I just…"

"I know, I know; sorry, Laura." Paula laughed and shook her head. "You were talking about it a lot, though! Anyway…can we sit down over here, or…?"

"Of course!" Claire nodded, gesturing to the hay piles. "Let's get comfortable, and then we can start talking."

Everyone else nodded as well as they all got settled. They gathered in a circle around the food, and Bruce paused to center the snacks a little better before curling up in his seat. Then, he nodded in Laura and Paula's direction.

"We made sure to save a couple of Plain Seeds for you—it was you who liked them, right, Laura?"

Laura blushed lightly as she mumbled out a "Yeah" of agreement. It had come up when they'd gone to Spinda's Café; in fact, it was one of the few topics Laura had actually brought up on her own. Not that she'd been completely silent—she'd mostly just continued things Paula had started. Everyone had (correctly) taken it to mean it must've been something she really liked in that case.

Rin blinked as she reached for a Brown Gummi. "Well, I guess it's a slightly unusual preference, but…it's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"You wouldn't believe how big of a deal everyone at our Guild made over it when _they_ first found out." Paula rolled her eyes as she munched on an Apple. "I mean, Plain Seeds aren't _my_ favorites either, but, still! Some of them act like it's the _only_ thing Laura ever eats."

"Oh, right, you guys work at the Torterra Guild, right?" Felix commented. "I was thinking about it a while back, since Ricky graduated from there, too, but…well…it sounded a little _intense_, so…"

"It is, kind of." Paula shrugged before taking another bite. "Laura and I haven't really gotten to go on any big explorations yet—it's only recently that we've gotten to do a few smaller ones. Mostly supervised stuff, too; they really make sure you're ready before going out on your own. Honestly, I was kind of expecting you'd like it, since all of the training helped me get more confident."

Felix grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well, I'd always kind of hoped I could get right into the big stuff, but since I was too nervous to actually try, I ended up putting off a decision for a while. Even after Fabian told me about the Wigglytuff Guild, I spent a few months procrastinating on it…"

Claire blinked. "Torterra Guild? What's that?"

"Oh, well, you met Ricky at our reunion, right?" Paula said. "It's where he graduated—and it's not too far from where we live. It's not quite as well known as the Wigglytuff Guild is, and they're not really as…public, I guess, with some of their inner workings, but they have a lot of classes and stuff that really help you prepare for longer exploration trips and such. It's been a big help!"

Laura nodded. Claire supposed it did sound helpful in some ways—they'd just been thrown right into exploring at the Wigglytuff Guild. Though that was fine in other ways… It meant they'd learned how to think quickly and got direct experience right away, after all.

"It's been really helpful for Laura, too, though in…other ways." Paula shrugged. "At any rate, you said you didn't get that from Wigglytuff's guild, right?"

"Yeah, we just went right into exploring," Felix replied. "I guess it was kind of sudden, but…the hands-on training was good in a way, too."

"Plus, if you hadn't joined the Wigglytuff Guild, you might not have met us," Iris added proudly. "And _that_ would be a huge tragedy."

Rin sighed and shook her head. "You didn't have to put it like that, Iris…but…I guess you have a point."

Huh, that was true, Claire thought. They'd specifically come to the guild and asked for help because they'd heard about her and Felix getting Drowzee arrested. Rin still might've asked the guild's other recruits for help, and it was possible they would've met each other while exploring at some point, but… Well, it wouldn't have been at the same time or under the same circumstances.

"Oh, really?" Paula was saying. "I don't think you told me how you all met before."

"Well, Felix and I took a job request from Rin, and that's when she and Iris joined us," Claire explained. "And as for Bruce…"

"It was after they explored Crystal Cave the first time," the Glameow finished. "I came to the guild myself and offered to join."

"Huh," Paula mused, tapping her chin. "I'm not sure how recruiting Pokémon like that would work in our case. I guess we'd have to go out on more large-scale missions first, and we'd have to ask Torterra, of course… But I guess it's something to think about for later!"

Claire nodded as she reached for a White Gummi. Honestly, she'd been a little surprised they could recruit Pokémon that way at first, too… Most of the other guild members either explored on their own or had groups assigned to them by Chatot, after all. They'd joined individually, with the sole exceptions (besides her and Felix, of course) being Team Lightning. Even with them having three members, they'd all joined together.

"You know, I'm curious about how your guild runs stuff now," Claire mused as she swallowed. "Do you think they'd allow visitors? Not to join, of course, but just for a day's visit, or something."

"I'm…not really sure about that, either." Paula frowned. "I guess it couldn't hurt to ask, but they're generally tight-lipped about stuff for Pokémon who aren't hopeful recruits… I don't know."

Claire shrugged. "Well, don't worry about it too much. We can just visit you guys on your next day off, or something, if you'd rather."

Paula nodded, and everyone was quiet for a few seconds as they grabbed some more snacks. Claire finished off her gummi as Laura popped another Plain Seed into her mouth, and the Treecko's gaze drifted back towards the ocean view. Laura glanced over at Paula as if she wanted to ask something, and Paula spoke up for her.

"It's okay if you want to get up and stretch, Laura," she said. "Right?"

Felix nodded. "Yeah, we've been sitting here for a while, I guess. And the view _is_ pretty nice; I always like to look out there if it's too late to get down to the beach."

At the agreement, everyone got up and padded over to the cave's "teeth." There was a cool but light breeze that afternoon, and Claire sighed as it ruffled her fur. It really was a nice day, and when the weather was like this, it made her glad they were living somewhere with such open air.

Meanwhile, Laura closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. There was an almost wistful look on her face when she opened her eyes again, and Laura was almost transfixed on the view. Paula smiled as she noticed her partner's contentment.

"It _is_ a nice view, huh? I bet you didn't get to see too much like this before."

Laura sighed before mumbling a simple "Yeah…" in response.

Bruce blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well…Laura's parents were pretty…overprotective, from what I've heard."

Paula eyed her partner, as if asking permission to go on. Surprisingly, though, Laura herself responded a moment later.

"They…never let me go out much," she explained quietly. "I didn't have many friends, either, and most of the ones I had…I met when I was lucky enough to sneak out." Laura shuddered before adding, "My parents were very…strict in general. Nothing ever pleased them, either, and…"

Paula patted her on the back, expression stony as she added, "One of her friends helped her leave for good, but they got separated on the way out. That's when she met up with me, and then Laura came along with me to join the Torterra Guild."

"So _that's_ what you meant when you said Laura's situation was similar to mine," Claire said, wincing sympathetically as she remembered something Paula had said at her family's reunion. "That's a lot like how I met Felix."

"And I guess that's what you meant about those classes being helpful, too…" Rin mused. "She probably didn't get to learn much before."

Paula nodded. "Yeah, some of it's general book learning, while some of it's more like life skills. You know, like foraging and preparing tools and all that. And luckily, Laura's friend ended up tracking us down, too, so he knew she was okay."

Laura briefly smiled again as Paula finished. Everyone was quiet for a few seconds—it was sad to hear how rough Laura's childhood had been, of course, but at least she'd managed to get herself a fresh start with Paula. Still, no one was sure how to vocalize that properly. Claire knew she didn't want to say something that came off as insensitive or condescending (though she'd readily agree that her life now was far better than what she could assume it was like before if anyone said that to her).

Out of the corner of her eye, though, she could see Iris thoughtfully tapping the side of her head. Rin seemed to have noticed as well, and the Cubone subconsciously tightened her grip on her bone. Claire doubted it would be anything _too_ bad, but—

"See, I think it'd be good for her to meet the rest of your family sometime, then!" the Cacnea said brightly. "Laura could probably use some more friends, and all that. Of course, we'd be happy to hang out with her again sometime, anyway, but—"

Paula and Felix shared a glance before simultaneously cutting her off with a firm, "_No_."

"Oh, come on!" Iris groaned. "Your family reunion was so much fun! What would be the harm in that?"

"Well, you might have a point, but…" Paula frowned. "Not in those numbers, by any means. We'd have to start off small. Right, Laura? It did take you a while to get used to everyone at our guild, after all…"

Laura paused contemplatively before nodding again. "I think…I wouldn't mind meeting some of your relatives, but…something small would be nice, yes."

"All right, then!" Paula said brightly. "I guess that's settled. For now, though, let's just relax some more."

Everyone gave various responses of agreement, and Claire smiled as she leaned against the stalagmite in front of her. It really was a good day to just hang around and talk like this, and everyone deserved a break. She eyed their visitors for a few seconds before glancing out at the ocean.

Yeah…they could all stand to appreciate a view like this more often, and Claire counted herself lucky for having such easy access to it. And if everyone else was happy with that, she'd definitely take it.


End file.
